Fence



- Apr. 24, 1923.

J. $TEFAN. J

I when Filed March: a, 1922 j//ZZ 07": 2 &006 2 a, istics andat the same time perm1t the fence Patented Apr. 24, 1923'. UNITED STATES JACOB STEFAN, JR. OF CHICAGO HEIGHTS, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, IBY MESNE ASSIGN- .452.76 PATENT OFFICE- MENTS, TO INLAND STEEL COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

Application filed March 8, 1922. Serial No. 542,101.

ble to fencing in which the post is of metal 15 and has arear leg or flange projecting backward at right angles to the plane of the fence. More specifically, my purpose is to provide a clip adapted to engage the fence post in a particular manner to hold the fence wire'securely to the post with a minimum of efi'ort on the part of the builder, with a minimum of material, and with a maximum degree of permanence and strength. It is also my purpose to obtain a construction.

which will embody the foregoingcharacterwire to shift horizontally relatively to the post.

- I accomplish my objects by the construc- 9 tion illustrated in the accompanying drawin in which- A igure 1 is a. perspective view of a 'secwires and showing the clipin the-process of being applied. V I Figure 3is similar to Figure '2 except that fthe clip is shown in, final fastened position. Figure 4 is front elevation of the .post shown invFigure 3.

Fi re 5 is a perspective view of the clip. The ulllines show the clip in the condition in which it' is furnished b the manufacturerto the user. The dotted lines show the shape of the clip after it has been applied.

Like numerals denote like parts throughout the several views. a

In the form illustrated,. the fencing has horizontal wires 1 connected by vertical wires 2. vThe verticalwires may be'omitted. According to the illustrated design the fence post is int-he form of a T bar,-having.what will be called a' front land a rearward rmrcn.

extendingdeg or flange 6'. front consists in reality of two' legs or flanges arranged 1n the same plane at right angles to, and extending in opposite directions from the planeof the leg 6. I have illustrated the post as having a central front ridge 8 and regularly spaced lugs 10, but I do not REIssunn lay any claim to these characteristics. The same are shown in a co-pending applica-'' tion filed by Harold C. Jones, January 16th, 1922, Serial No. 529,404. Y

Now referring tp the cli which forms one of the essential elements ot the invention this consists of a piece of stout wire which, as it leaves the manufacturer, is in the form shown 1n F1gures 2 and 5. It has a front section 12 terminating in a hook 14 at one end, and at the other end a lon and straight section 15 extending obliquely backward. As shown, the front section is in the form of a flat arch and the backward reaching section makes an angllle of approximately 60 degrees with it. pract1ce,'after the fence post has been set upright in the ground the, fencing is laid against the front, the horizontal wires 1 ly ng in contact with the front of the post or with the ridge 8. The clip is then applied to each one of the horizontal wires in the manner shown in Figure 2. The hook 14 is passed over the edgeof one of the flanges 4; then the central section 12 is passed obliquely across the front of the post outside of the adjacent wire, and the long section 15 is brought into contactwith the edge of the remaining front flange and with the rear edge of the back leg 6. The operator then takes a hammer or other tooland bends the rear end ofsection 16 around the rear endof leg 6 into the po'sitionshown in Figs ures 1 and ,3. The parts thereupon become permanently assembled, thematerial of the clip being of such character as to efiiciently maintain its new configuration.

Wire fence clips are not new per see, being shown, for example, in the said Jones application; but'in the Jones type the clips .enga-ge only the Jedges of the frontfiange whereas in my construction the clip is carried back toengage the rear edge of the rear flange or legQ The effect is noticeably different and better. In the first place a clip of my type is easier to apply, for it is larger and more convenient to h'andle,'an d the-bend which must be formed'in the field is formed at'a point which is much more accessible to the builder. Eurthermore it is not necesa other words, the

sary to bend the wire through as great an angle with m type as it is in the previous type where he angle of bend is approx mately 180 degrees. In my clip the bend s appreciably less than this and the result 1s that the bent portion can lie more snugly against the surface of the flange around which it engages. But a more important consideration still is the fact that the stress resulting in horizontal pressure against the horizontal wire, to force the wire away from the post, is much more nearly in line with the section of the clip which resists it. In ortion of the clip lying between the front ange and the point where it engages the back of the post is more nearly in line with the pull than in thecase of a clip where the final bend is bent around the front flange. As a result of many tests it has been found that amuch stronger force (tending to pull the fencing away from the post) will be resisted by a clip of my type than by a clip of the type heretofore employed. With my type of clip, also, the horizontal fence wires may shift horizontally for adjustment and yet the clip will exert a limited amount of friction to prevent the wire from shifting too easily.

It is desirable, but not essential, that in 30 applying the clips they be made to alternate in their direction of slant, that is, it is desirable that one clip cross the horizontal wire slanting downward toward the right, and that the next one cross it slanting downward toward the left. It is also desirable, but not essential, that the longer section 15 lie on the right side of the post in some cases and on the left side in other cases, as illustrated in Figure 1.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim is new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A clip for fencing in which there is a T bar post and a horizontal fence wire passing across its front face, said clip being of stout, bendable wire having a hook at one end adapted to engage one of the post flanges, a flatly bowed section adapted to extend across the face of the post, and a backward reaching section bent in such direction that.

the included angle, relativelyto the front section, is approximately 60 degrees, the backward reaching section extending to and considerably beyond the rear flange, whereby it may be bent around said rear flange and the resistance for producing the bend be furnished by said flange.

Inwitness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

JACOB STEFAN, JR. 

